Hanoi Streets

Nguyen Huu Huan Street has been through quite many names before settled at the name of Nguyen HuuHuan Street. Under the French colonization, the street got the name of General Petain. Later it was changed into BacNinhStreet after the northern province bordering Hanoi. The next name was PhanThanhGian- a name of an anti-French mandarin of the last dynasty. It took a while for the street got where it is today with the name of Nguyen HuuHuan.

An end is the T-junction with Tran Nhat Duat Street. After 450m in length, the street ends with the intersection between Ly Thai To and Lo Su Street.

Hanoi has been always the land of trade and craft. To differentiate their trade, the trade marks among different traders always reveal something about their merchandise.

The electrical maintenance shops almost share the word of Quang in their signboards. “Quang” means light in Vietnamese. While the wood traders have posted the word of Lam in their signboards. “Lam” of course means wood in Vietnamese. Likewise, the word of “Kim” appears quite often in jeweler’s.

Nguyen HuuHuanStreet used to host a fair number of wood shops with the similar names such as Quan Nam Lam, Thanh Lam, My Lam and Quang Lam. Once upon a time, the street held a monopolistic grip on wood furniture in the capital. Some traders here even had their own workshops and their shops all at Nguyen HuuHuanStreet. However by 1997-1998, only a few traders maintain their workshops here, meanwhile most of them have their merchandise outsourced at the villages neighboring to Hanoi.

A notable spot in the street was Lam Café. This somehow became an art salon in a rundown coffee shop. Many prominent artists of Vietnam spent their time here socializing. The shop owner was generous to sell his coffee on credit. In return, once in while the indebted artists pay him with some oil, water color or silk paintings. The coffee shop naturally became a gallery of important painters such Bui Xuan Phai, Duong Bich Lien and Luu Cong Nhan. In this way, the shop owner has accidentally became a billionaire.

Tourists often come to the street for a treat of Xoi Yen- the shop selling sticky rice with delicious toppings. Another special treat is the egg coffee at CaPheGiang. It tastes like tiramisu- just stronger in caffeine level.